Though she became famous for her first and second novels ‘Everything, Everything,’ and ‘The Sun Is Also A Star,’ Nicola Yoon has written other young adult literature, some of which are in collaboration with multiple authors. As a writer passionate about inclusivity and diversity in literature, Nicola has created stories featuring remarkable characters in varying circumstances. Her stories resonate with her ideologies of the world, and she shows how love feels from people of color’s perspective.
The New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist’s brave approach to writing novels focusing on love has made her a force in the young adult romance genre. At the start of her career, Nicola Yoon stated she wanted to write stories with black characters having happy endings as there were so many works focusing on the detrimental aspects of being a black person in the United States.
Super Human by Nicola Yoon
‘Super Human’ is a short young adult story by Nicola Yoon. It tells the story of a superhero, X, who becomes disillusioned with humanity and decides to destroy it. X broadcasts to the world leaders, telling them they have three days to bring someone to convince him to spare the world. The leaders choose Syrita, a wealthy 17-year-old girl X first saved, as they believe she will remind him of why he first became a hero.
On getting to X’s house in Crenshaw, LA, a region her mother would have considered a ghetto, Syrita sits with the superhero, and they start talking. X tells her about how a police officer shot him because he was black, even though he was one of the most decorated people in the police force. Though she desperately tries, Syrita fails to create a way to place the fault on X. He flies her out of the window to a roof, where he removes his mask and explains how he got his powers.
On returning to his apartment, Syrita realizes she has no talking points to defend humanity as they have failed X. She eventually thinks of one last thing and jumps through the window to remind the superhero of his humanity.
The Man in the Moon: A Short Story
‘The Man in the Moon: A Short Story’ is a short romance story by Nicola Yoon. It is about 160 words and tells the story of Jack, an astronaut who travels to the moon.
After all his time in a different world, Jack returns, and on seeing his wife, he hugs her and says:
“There are whole planets, whole galaxies, whole worlds where you and I don’t exist.”
His wife looks at him, noting the ecstasy in his voice, and asks if he had to go to the moon to discover what she had always known being by his side.
Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Books of Villainy
‘Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Books of Villainy,’ is an anthology of short stories written by 13 bestselling authors and 13 booktubers. The work reimagines fairytales from the villains’ point of view and shows the circumstances that forced them to become who they were.
‘Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Books of Villainy,’ cuts across famous stories like Sherlock Holmes and Medusa. The 13 authors who worked on the anthology include Nicola Yoon, Rene Ahdieh, Susan Dennard, Amerlie, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, and Tucholke.
Meet Cute
‘Meet Cute’ is an anthology of short stories featuring Nicola Yoon. It follows the lives of multiple people who meet and fall for each other. The anthology features Nicola Yoon’s classic writing style as she follows the lives of lovers breaking and making up.
Other stories featured include Nina LaCour’s tale of two Bay Area girls who meet via a customer service tweet, Jennifer Armentrout’s story about finding love from a missing library book, Katie Cotugno’s story of two teens who fall for each other while hiding from the police at a house party, and Sara Shepard’s tale of a rock star and magazine intern.
Other writers featured include Emery Lord, Katharine McGee, Kass Morgan, Meredith Russo, Julie Murphy, Dhonielle Clayton, Jocelyn Davies, and Ibi Zoboi.
Blackout
Written by an all-star group comprising Nicola Yoon, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Nic Stone, ‘Blackout’ is a young adult fiction novel that follows the interlinked lives of six black teenagers who explore the concepts of friendship and love after a power outage in New York City.
Whiteout
‘Whiteout’ is a young adult fiction novel by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nicola Yoon, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, and Ashley Woodfolk. It tells the story of 12 black teens who team up to help their friend make an apology while it snows. As the weather deteriorates, things look bleak for the group. However, they strive to make the apology of their friend a reality.
